Conductive atomic force microscope nanopatterning of hydrogen-passivated silicon in inert organic solvents

Ambient liquid phase atomic force microscope (AFM) techniques for nanopatterning organic molecules on silicon through direct Si-C bonds rely on reactions that are in direct competition with spurious oxidation. We study the effectiveness of an inert hydrophobic organic solvent at suppressing oxidation of hydrogen-passivated silicon under ambient conditions. Nanometer scale features were fabricated on an H:Si(111) substrate using a conductive AFM in hexadecane. The patterned features show chemical and kinetic behavior consistent with field induced oxidation (FIO) in air. The mechanism for FIO in hexadecane is discussed.